The last remaining piece of the Deer Lake Drive-In Theatre is slowly disappearing.

For the last few weekends, a third party for property owner Forino Corp. LP, Reading, who wished to not be named, has been removing the screen and says the structure will be entirely down in a few weeks.

Once the site of a thriving drive-in movie theater built in the late 1950s, the property has been vacant and unused since the mid-1990s.

Forino plans to develop 108 single-family homes on the site, according to Ken Schnader, project manager for Forino.

Forino bought the property in December 2003.

At the last West Brunswick Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Forino was granted a time extension on preliminary plans for the project, township secretary Patricia Reazor said.

Schnader said they hope the final plans will be approved by December.

The third party removing the screen said he is planning to donate a portion of the scrap metal from the movie screen to local Boy Scout troops.

A number of groups have tried to restore the drive-in over the years. Joseph B. McDade and Kevin J. Moxley, both of Langhorne, unsuccessfully attempted to get West Brunswick Township to grant a variance to allow them to operate the theater in 2002.

Under the townshipâ€™s regulations for that site, a drive-in operation is not allowed, but the Deer Lake Drive-In, which was already there before the ordinance was created, was â€œgrandfathered.â€ The site then closed for several years and could not reopen without a variance.

I was in Roseville this week. The marquee of the former Plaza reads Emanuel Christian Church in English and Spanish. The door was open so I walked-in. The building has been renovated. Stage and balcony in place with new theatre-type seats. The only person on site was an electrician who knew nothing about the church’s former use.